Sunday, July 24

PULP

I came to the whole Britpop party a bit late. Hell, I still don't know exactly when the "movement" began in the UK. I do remember seeing the video for Blur's "Girls and Boys" on MTV in the U.S. at some vague point in time. And then there was Oasis, of course, actually getting a hell of a lot more American airplay than Blur. When I moved to Los Angeles in 1994, that was more-or-less the extent of my knowledge of the genre.

But in L.A. I met a girl who had the decency to introduce me to the band Pulp. At some point - and for some reason - I had ended an e-mail to her with a random lyric from - swear to christ - OINGO BOINGO. Duly alarmed and indignant, she replied with a lyric from a song called "Underwear." That song was by Pulp, of course, and though I don't remember what the specific lyric was, it's a safe bet that it had something to do with... well... underwear. The very next day she loaned me Different Class, the album from whence that song came, and a long and lustful love affair was born.

To this day, I consider "Common People" one of the ten best pop songs of the '90s, what with its relentless momentum and build (and lyrics worthy of Morrissey, which I mean as the peak of praise). Little did I know at the time that Jarvis Cocker & Co. had existed - in one incarnation or another - since 1978, though they hadn't begun to break through to the masses until 1994's His 'n' Hers.

From the very genesis of this blog, I had the intention of selfishly spotlighting my favorite artists, so it was just a matter of time before Pulp insinuated themselves onto the stage. Still, though, it was Achtung Baby!'s posting of This is Hardcore's title track a week or so ago that provided the immediate impetus for this present Pulpalooza. So thanks go to him. And also to Torr, who is the "man" to "see" about all things musically Brit.